How can I entertain my shy dog?

June 26, 2015 2:08 PM

My recently adopted Dachshund/Shiba mix is very shy and skittish. He doesn't like toys, chews, sticks, games, or even people food. In addition to walks, which he does love, what can I do to entertain him?

I can't get another dog, because I have several cats, some who will lie next to him and some who avoid him (none engage him in play.) He is shy of strange dogs and almost every human but me and my husband. I want him to feel secure but I'm afraid he is bored. We have a small yard but he doesn't like to stay there, alone or accompanied, for more than a few minutes.

posted by juniper to Pets & Animals (21 answers total)

One thing I learned about weirdo little dogs from my weirdo little dog is that you can't force them to play. Give him some toys, give him some treats, and let him acclimate to his new home.

Get him a few "thinking" treats. There's something called a Busy Bone that was a good intro toy/treat for my dog to get him to be less tentative. It's like a rawhide tube thing filled with some kind of goo. (Probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but one or two isn't going to harm your pup.) Just put it on the floor by him, give him some praise and some pets, and leave him to it.

Once he gets comfortable with interacting with his surroundings a bit, get a wooden dog puzzle. The ones that work the best (in my opinion) are the ones with little slidey or flap doors (as opposed to pegs, which roll away under the couch forever). Hide high value treats in there and then just let him do it on his own.

You can't force the dog to play. Just give him a good variety of stuff and let him choose his own adventure.
posted by phunniemee at 2:16 PM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

You both might enjoy taking a dog training class. Teaching him the basics and giving him a chance to learn (especially with the help of a trainer) is one way to get him to be more interactive. Dogs like brain play as much as traditional play and it's a great way to bond.
posted by mochapickle at 2:26 PM on June 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

You can allot a percentage of his daily food intake to kongs or puzzle toys. My sister's dog is entertained for hours by a ball that drops treats, for example. But is he asking to be entertained? I'm sitting here with three dogs who basically just want to hang out with me, no entertainment beyond walks and belly rubs required.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:29 PM on June 26, 2015 [5 favorites]

How long have you had this dog? My rescue dog is now 5 -- I've had him for 3.5 years. When I first got him, he was totally shut down. He wouldn't play, didn't like treats and didn't like other dogs. Like yours, he liked to walk and that was it. For the first year we had him, he developed a new doggy-trait every month. There was the month he started to bark. There was the month he started to play with toys by himself. There was the month he let the neighbor kid pet him. There was the month he started to sniff other dog butts. There was the month he started to lift his leg to pee instead of squatting. There was the month he started to howl (he's a hound mix). This slowed down after the first year we had him, but every so often he starts to do something new. About 3 months ago he started to play with toys interactively with me, which brought a tear to my eye -- my doggy wants to play with me!

My point is, maybe he just needs to settle in a bit. One thing I found very helpful was to do obedience and trick training with him. It gave us a way to interact that allowed him to be as physically close or far from me as he was comfortable with. And it gives him a job to do. Don't underestimate the importance of exercising his brain.
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:30 PM on June 26, 2015 [16 favorites]

In my experience, Shiba-ken are very placid dogs.
posted by Nevin at 2:44 PM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

How recently adopted is he? My dog had hardly any interest in toys or playing for at least a couple months after I adopted her. Once she settled in, her personality came out more!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 2:44 PM on June 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

How about toys that have some rewards, like little Kongs?

Also, PICS please??
posted by arnicae at 2:54 PM on June 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

One of my dogs didn't seem to even know what toys were for, strangely enough he'd play with his doggy blanket. It took him 18 months of patient trying to get him to play by me and my other dog to convince him that hey look chews are fun, and lets play throw the stuffed squirrel around. We finally got him interested in chews by coating them in peanut butter. Also some dogs just like one type of toy, have you tried playing fetch with balls or frisbees?

Some dogs like playing chasing, though I suggest waiting until he feels really settled to try that one as it can upset nervous or aggressive dogs. If he has a high value treat he really likes like cheese or something using mind stimulating toys or things like kongs etc he has to work to get to the treat are a great introduction. Do you know anyone with playful dogs, watching other dogs play can help too.
posted by wwax at 3:10 PM on June 26, 2015

What these guys are saying. I've had pretty many dogs, and they've all had adjustment periods. Dogs are intelligent and emotionally complex, so when they come into a new home, they usually have some stuff to work through. Abandonment issues, stress, lack of confidence, something, and they manifest in different ways. Some are big balls of nerves, some shut down and don't react. But I have never had one who didn't come into their own after a while. Follow his lead. Take him for walks. let him get comfortable, offer him toys and stuff but don't press it if he's not interested.

We adopted a pretty stressed out 13 year old dog several years back. He was very shy and withdrawn and kind of standoffish and even snippy sometimes, and I think it's safe to say he was working through some trauma. We made him comfortable and decided to just let him decide how to progress, and then, one day, after several months with us, he snuck up on our other dog--a young pit bull mix three times his size--nipped her on the butt, and RAN. She obliged and chased him, and for years, they played that ridiculous running game almost every day. He never really figured out toys, though. (BTW, that younger dog is a saint, I tell you, and she in turn had some pretty hardcore separation anxiety for close to a year after she came home.)

It just takes time. Keep up with the walks. Give him opportunities, toss a ball every now and again, keep some toys around (some dogs have strong preferences for certain textures, so maybe have something chewy, something plush, and something hard). But don't pressure him too much. He's probably still adjusting.
posted by ernielundquist at 3:14 PM on June 26, 2015

Yes to dog puzzles. Also, you might try basic agility tasks (this is easier if you have a dog park with the seesaw and poles and tunnel thing, or can find an agility group that does beginner's lessons in small enough groups) and see if that sort of "work" appeals to him as entertainment.

It took my greyhound about 5 months to figure out how to play, with a toy that had been laying around all that time. He just mostly liked my company, and then over time he kind of taught me what he liked to do and I would try to engage appropriately.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:15 PM on June 26, 2015

Response by poster: Here's my dude:http://imgur.com/69BVcaa I've had him for just 4 months, which included a move (same area) so I understand it will take time. He does seem to enjoy just hanging out while I do whatever at home, and napping. Dislikes toys to the point of backing away from them, though.
posted by juniper at 3:55 PM on June 26, 2015 [7 favorites]

One thing to try is to give him a quiet den-like space he can escape to. With a lot of dogs that helps them feel secure. Once he's into that for a while, put some toys in there. Then he'll get used to them. Then you can start luring him into playing with them.
posted by lumpenprole at 4:00 PM on June 26, 2015

He is super cute!

I second the recommendation for obedience classes. They really helped my super-shy and skittish rescue GSD, and the trainer/teacher had great recommendations for stuff I could do with her to help her get over her submissiveness.

And yes, it took a long time for her to settle down, but she did eventually.
posted by suelac at 4:05 PM on June 26, 2015

Get a bunch of small tasty treats (make sure they have a scent he can follow). Take him into a bedroom. Make him sit and stay. Wave the treats in his face. Get him excited about the treats.

Go back into the house. He can't see you, because he's in the bedroom.

Hide the treats. Under tables. Behind chairs. In corners and nooks and crannies.

Call him out. Sit back and watch him search the house.

This is a great technique to use right before you leave for the day. Get the dog to spend some significant time searching the house.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:17 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

He might really enjoy going on walks with you, and for a lot of doges that's enough.
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:24 PM on June 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

One thing to try is to give him a quiet den-like space he can escape to.

This is great advice. When my dog was younger he really loved cave time. I draped a sheet over his crate, put a cheap old squashy pillow on the inside (only when I was home, otherwise that pillow would have turned into confetti), and let him go in and hang out in the quiet darkness as he pleased. Now that he's older he's happier spreading out (so I got him a sofa), but back when the world was new and scary having a safe, enclosed place with no touchy was really good for him.
posted by phunniemee at 4:30 PM on June 26, 2015

Super adorable! So, check out this book and/or the zillions of online suggestions for teaching dog tricks, and get yourself some prize treats like those natural chicken crunchy treats. Take a few minutes at a time to learn tricks! And get treats! 5 minutes or so of trainings is fine, and very fun for your dog.

Classes are good. Most dogs enjoy those.

Many dogs love being cuddled and petted. It's a good thing for a dog to like because it helps with pet visits. Try doing some plain old hanging out and stroking your dog, combined with lots of praise.

Also, consider grooming. My dog enjoys it. Again, we keep it short, but once a week I run a comb and dog brush over him.

Let your dog follow you around and see what you're doing. Dogs like keeping an eye on their people.

Lastly, dogs like to sleep and do it a lot, so nthing all the other answers that suggest you carve out nice sleeping options for your pup.
posted by bearwife at 5:50 PM on June 26, 2015

Um, scratch my book suggestion -- I confused it with one I have at home which strictly uses positive reinforcement. This looks like a better choice.
posted by bearwife at 5:58 PM on June 26, 2015

You'll find his personality; he'll let you see it. Some dogs take a long time (but it sounds like he is basically a nice boy, which is great for a start).

One thing that has helped me with a lot of withdrawn dogs is that, in my house, they see relaxed happy dogs interacting with people. You don't have other dog(s), but do your cats take treats or play with toys, or with you? If he sees them obviously playing with you or accepting treat-food it might help him get the idea. (ie: offer treat to cat where he can see, when cat takes it, then turn and offer treat to dog. If he turns up his nose, just give it to cat, try again later... and this, too, may take months.)

...

With a lot of the shy ones, in terms of play & toys, I've just given them a lot of space to get adjusted and lots of toys and let them work out what they wanted to play with--and if they eventually started to play with something inappropriate (like the cardboard recycling, or chewing the plastic dog bowls), I found them toys that were similar (cardboard they could play with--that dog never did learn to play with anything but paper products, or nylabones).

Interaction takes a lot of guess and give too. If they are cuddly, they may appreciate just being cuddled or held in a lap while you're at a computer or watching TV. If they're not allowed on the couch, you can try laying on the floor with them. If they're restrained, you can talk to them while you're doing anything at all, and let them decide what kind of interaction they want.

Basically you just give the dog a lot of options, see what he accepts, from there increase what he seems to enjoy--or he'll come back for more of the same. But it can, as discussed above, take months before your dog is comfortable and able to relax.

...

The first thing I always did with new, withdrawn dogs was to work on "sit," and then other tricks/obedience. I've found that the more a dog understands that there is a pattern to the way he is expected to behave, it significantly helps him to settle and trust. Good behavior means he gets a reward, poor behavior means he gets corrected, and you'll *tell* him when he is good or when his behavior isn't acceptable; learning this goes a long, long way towards a dog who will initiate interaction with a person and will relax enough to play.

So training is a great way to interact, as long as most of the time it's a positive interaction for him, mostly getting rewards (which can be as minor as telling him "good boy," if he doesn't want treats etc), not correction. You can teach normal obedience (leashwalking, "come," "stay, "etc) or tricks, or anything else you can think of. You can make a game or a reward out of regular grooming, and playing with toes so they'll accept toenail clipping. You can teach hand signals in addition to verbal commands. So far every single dog I've worked with (my own, rescue/foster dogs, dogs we've retrained for family members) has enjoyed training time[*].

...
[*] Except one, and he was the one who was just too emotionally burned to come out from under the bed; he needed a quieter foster home, one without other dogs. Poor fella.
posted by galadriel at 11:38 PM on June 26, 2015

Let him be himself. Some dogs don't like to play or do very much outside of their daily walks. Sometimes it's enough for them to just hang out with their family.

My current dog -- a former stray -- is a good-natured dunce who likes to sit with people. If she's left alone, she lies in her crate or under the table, or in anything that approximates an enclosed box. She is not, in other words, looking for adventure, and she doesn't like the stresses of expectations like 'play' or other complex interactions. It's all fine with me if a simple life keeps her happy.
posted by grounded at 7:59 AM on June 27, 2015 [3 favorites]

If he has not already had a good check up recently one thing to consider is that your dog might have sore teeth or gums. That can severely reduce a dogs interest in any kind of game that involves using his mouth. It can also lead to him acting like a shy and withdrawn dog because he won't feel very frisky if his mouth hurts.
posted by Jane the Brown at 6:25 AM on June 28, 2015 [2 favorites]